Dismantling Public Policy

Policy dismantling is a distinctive form of policy change, which involves the cutting, reduction, diminution or complete removal of existing policies. The perceived need to dismantle existing policies normally acquires particular poignancy during periods of acute economic austerity. Dismantling is thought to be especially productive of political conflict, pitting those who benefit from the status quo against those who, for whatever reason, seek change. However, scholars of public policy have been rather slow to offer a comprehensive account of the precise conditions under which particular aspects of policy are dismantled, grounded in systematic empirical analysis. Although our overall understanding of what causes policy to change has accelerated a lot in recent decades, there remains a bias towards the study of either policy expansion or policy stability. Dismantling does not even merit a mention in most public policy textbooks. Yet without an account of both expansion and dismantling, our understanding of policy change in general, and the politics surrounding the cutting of existing policies, will remain frustratingly incomplete. This book seeks to develop a more comparative approach to understanding policy dismantling, by looking in greater detail at the dynamics of cutting in two different policy fields: one (social policy) which has been subjected to study before and the other (environmental policy) which has not. On the basis of a systematic analysis of the existing literatures in these two fields, it develops a new analytical framework for measuring and explaining policy dismantling. Through an analysis of six, fresh empirical cases of dismantling written by leading experts, it reveals a more nuanced picture of change, focusing on what actually motivates actors to dismantle, the strategies they use to secure their objectives and the politically significant effects they ultimately generate. Dismantling Public Policy is essential reading for anyone wanting to better understand a hugely important facet of contemporary policy and politics. It will inform a range of student courses in comparative public policy, politics, social and environmental policy. Policy dismantling is a subject which has been studied before but only in a few countries and sectors and without ever arriving at definitive conclusions about the forces, actions and patterns of policy-making behaviour which result in or lead to this type of policy change. This excellent collection of articles by leading policy scholars moves this discussion forward through case study and comparative analyses of instances of policy termination in North America and Europe. It distinguishes between cases of active dismantling, largely symbolic terminations and 'dismantling by default' when policies are simply allowed to lapse, and in so doing helps to bring order and clarity to this important aspect of public policy-making. Michael Howlett, Burnaby Mountain Professor, Simon Fraser University In this, the first book of its kind, a team of distinguished scholars looks seriously at cases of policy retrenchment or elimination. They find that political leaders find many benefits in cutting, that social actors do not necessarily erupt in protest, and that policies are indeed routinely dismantled in many countries. The book charts a new course towards a theory of policy change that would encompass both the creation of new programs as well as the elimination of old ones. One cannot have one without the other. And we cannot have a theory of policy change without a theory of policy elimination. Frank R. Baumgartner, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill This is a terrific book about an extraordinarily important and woefully under-theorized topic - when and how politicians try to dismantle policies in place, and what determines their success or failure in doing so. The authors provide a useful conceptual framework for understanding the micro-foundations and strategic options for dismantling as well as assessing its impact across policy sectors. In addition, the rich case studies in Dismantling Public Policy make the volume "state of the art" in comparative policy research. As austerity concerns become ever more central to policymaking in western industrial societies, the analysis in this volume will provide theoretical and methodological guidance to researchers for years to come. R. Kent Weaver, Georgetown University and the Brookings Institution The main contribution of this volume is ... in providing a more valid conceptualisation of policy change that can undoubtedly be of use to diverse scholars of public policy. Moira Nelson, Journal of Social PolicyPART I - DISMANTLING DEBATES AND ANALYTICAL APPROACHES ; 1. Policy Dismantling: An Introduction ; 2. Understanding Policy Dismantling: An Analytical Framework ; PART II - THE DYNAMICS OF POLICY DISMANTLING ; Active Dismantling ; 3. Sequences of Active Policy Dismantling? Path Dependency in Pension Reform Processes ; 4. Active Dismantling Under High Institutional Constraints? Explaining the Bush Administration's Attempts to Weaken US Air Pollution Control Policy ; Dismantling by Default ; 5. From Dismantling by Default to Arena Shifting? Child Benefits Policy in Spain ; 6. Dismantling by Default? The Indexation of Social Benefits in Four Countries ; Dismantling by Symbolic Action ; 7. When the Dismantling of an Ineffective Policy Becomes Increasingly Costly: Default Strategies, Arena-shifting and Symbolic Action in German Waste Policy ; 8. From Dismantling by Default to Symbolic Dismantling? Water Policy in the United Kingdom ; PART III - COMPARATIVE CONCLUSIONS ; 9. Dismantling Public Policy: Preferences, Strategies, and Effects